Would-be election candidates in the South recently voiced support for a civil society proposal to provide monthly 3,000-baht stipends to parents under a universal child welfare scheme.
A seminar was recently held in Songkhla’s Hat Yai district to discuss children’s welfare. The event was joined by state agencies and poll candidates from the southern provinces.
Citing a Thailand Development Research Institute study, Sunee Chaiyaros, chairwoman of a group working to advance welfare policies for children, said 3,000 baht per month for children under six would help ensure their development.
A universal welfare scheme for children would grant benefits to more than 2 million children from poor families, she said, adding a committee will also propose expanding welfare for pregnant women so they can have the proper nutrition for their unborn babies.
Most candidates who were present at the seminar to campaign welcomed the plan.
Prachachart Party’s secretary-general Tawee Sodsong pledged to increase the scheme’s monthly stipend to 4,500 baht and expand maternity leave from three to six months, while children from 6–15 will receive 3,000 baht.
Meanwhile, Piyakan Suphanchanaburi, of the Democrat Party, pledged to give 3,000 baht to pregnant women for nine consecutive months. However, the fund for the child welfare plan will be set at 1,000 baht, he said.
Chutarat Sathirapanya, a lecturer at Songkla University’s Faculty of Medicine, the Department of Preventive Medicine and Family Medicine, said a study shows southern children grow at a lower rate than those in other regions.
Many people in the region appear to come from low-income families, she said.
Most children from poor families are unlikely to access state welfare as parents may not know about the benefits or lack documents to apply, she said. A universal child welfare scheme needs pushing, she said.
Soraya Jamjuree, chairwoman of the Coordination Centre for Children and Women for the Southern Border Provinces, called on each party to push for a universal child welfare plan.
She said many children in the southernmost provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat have faced issues posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and southern unrest, which has resulted in the jailing of some parents for taking part.
Pattani has the highest poverty rate in the country, resulting in child malnutrition and broken homes, she said.